Robert, Hi Mike
<< you could get away with rice bags and still have a reasonable
shape>>
Precisely! I'm not sure if it would be a premium racing rig, but
while cruising, it seems to me that the average sail shape,
particularly in light winds, would be superior to a bermuda rig.
To get the right sail shape with a single skin takes time, in terms
of adjusting leech/outhaul/
Plus, the battens that work at 40 knots will be to stiff for five
knots, and the battens that work at five knots will be too flexible for
40. I'm tired of yanking on my boom to get the battens to switch over
in light winds. I like to sail, but I'm not the kind of guy who would
keep three sets of battens on hand in order to have just the right
strength for the day's winds. So I have a medium-stiff set that
functions in all winds, but really isn't good for light or heavy
weather.
<<The strings need not be a big source of drag with dyneema but
one would need some gloves.>>
Agreed. Though I'd probably try to use dyneema on all the individual
lines, feeding into a single wider-diameter mainsheet (one shet per
bow, of course) that would be easier to handle and cleat.
<<Some people swear by junk rigs and this makes more sense to me
than a straight junk.>>
Particularly if you want to go upwind. I'll daysail much more often
than I go cruising, so going upwind is a big deal. A friend of mine
says one spends 70% of one's time sailing upwind, and I have to agree.
If I just go out and back for the day, the windward phase is noticeably
slower, and covers a lot more distance, than the leeward phase.
- Mike
On 5/27/2010 7:29 AM, robert wrote:
I am with you on this rig: you could get away with rice bags and still
have a reasonable shape; the sheet loads are lighter; it's easily
reefable; if the top section rotted out, it would be easy to replace
without wrecking the lines of the sails; there's no sail track to buy
or jam; and the battens can be low tech. The strings need not be a big
source of drag with dyneema but one would need some gloves. I will have
to make up my mind before I start trying to set up for making the
masts. A simple tapered section makes the most sense and it wouldn't
need the bearings of a lot of other rigs.
Apart from not being common I am not sure what the problems with it are
for a cruising rig. Some people swear by junk rigs and this makes more
sense to me than a straight junk.
Robert